N/A: Hello there! I won't dare typing names here because I'm much of an airhead and I might unintentionally forget someone – so here goes my huge 'THANK YOU' to ALL of you – adorable guests and FFnet users – you all rock this little world over here =)
N/A 2: This is dedicated to Elisa. You know why ;) And if it eventually ends on a cliffhanger, LD… that's for you (evil smirk).
Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil. Think I might just get a pony to compensate. Or a unicorn.
Find me on tumblr: follow-that-convoy
Find the Challenger too: keepcalmandshipclairice
And may the Aberfeels be with you.
7. Enraged women
Chris woke up with a jerk and almost hit his forehead on the steering wheel of the Hummer when someone slapped his ear. He looked around in confusion, finding strange to be there when he usually slept on the truck.
"Rise and shine!" He found K-Mart smiling sarcastically at him.
"What's with the swat, K?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
"You snore like a pig, so wake up already," she said matter-of-factly and jumped off the car.
"Why was I babysitting you again?" Chris grunted, but the teen was already moving to the camp center to have breakfast with the others. He rubbed his sore neck, wondering how Claire never noticed it was sleeping in the Hummer that got her all moody when she woke up.
He gruffly got out of the car and slammed the door shut. However, something on the back seat caught his attention. Even after the outbreak and this life on constant run, Claire had always been careful with cars, and he thought it was strange when he saw what seemed like a pile of rubbish in there. Chris was going to check it, but then he heard Chase calling out.
"Howdy, Redfield," he took off his hat and then put it back on as he approached the Hummer. "The guys found shovels inside an abandoned supermarket. Guess we can dig all the sand and get this little monster moving again."
"Claire will appreciate that," Chris nodded, patting the cowboy's shoulder friendly. "And we'd better relocate the truck. The sand might accumulate there too."
Chase nodded, squinting at the bright sunlight. "Is Claire up already?"
"Haven't seen her yet. She said she'd spend the night there," Chris said, tilting his head to indicate the police station. "Apparently there's a lot of her little excursion to Umbrella that she didn't share with us."
"Holy shit," Chase hissed, shaking his head in agreement. "What the goddamn was that about?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," the older Redfield grunted, taking the lead to join the group for breakfast and the usual division of daily tasks.
XXX
It was very unusual for her to wake up with that sensation. It felt warm, but not scalding like the sun, and her body seemed properly rested even though she knew her arms and legs were pretty tired. She slowly parted her eyelids, meeting green eyes that watched her carefully.
Claire smiled widely, sparing lazily on the couch as Alice kept ogling her. The blonde sat on the same chair the leader had sat last night, and she was already fully dressed.
"Your hair never gets straightened up?" the redhead asked in a sleepy voice as she noticed the blonde's unruly hair.
Alice grinned and chuckled. "It's part of the charm," she said huskily.
"People will know you got laid."
"If I leave the building with you, they will not even notice my hair."
Claire hoisted her upper body to look at her image on a shard of glass that still hung on the wall. She was a mess – her lips were slightly sore and her hair a total disaster of entangled red wads. Not to mention the bite marks.
"Fuck, Alice!" Claire groaned, checking her shoulders for more signs of what remained from last night.
"You say that a lot," the blonde teased, folding her arms as the redhead rolled her eyes and fumbled for her clothes.
Claire could not help feeling she was absolutely desired; every clothing item that she put back on seemed to melt with Alice's glare. Usually she hated when people invaded her personal space – Alice was the only exception. She was the only one who could gruffly hiss orders to her, and the only one capable of literally destroy each and every barrier Claire had built up against the world.
"I had expected you'd be gone by now," the redhead said, zipping up her pants.
"Well, those days of escaping through the window are long gone," Alice joked, trying to ignore the fact that she wanted to yank those jeans away from Claire's thighs all over again. "I stay for breakfast now."
Claire smiled softly. "You could stay always."
Alice's lips turned into a grimace that she tried to hide by hanging her head. She scavenged her pockets instead, and produced a pack of Marlboros. "Missed these little guys?"
"You're fucking kidding me," Claire whispered with a smirk as she took it and quickly picked one. Alice lit it for her and watched intently as the redhead closed her eyes to savor the first drag. "God, I love you."
Claire's eyes shot open the second she said that. Alice's expression was unreadable, and she avoided the leader's stare of panic by playing with the rim of her hat.
"I didn't mean it like that," Claire hurried to explain, standing up and frantically searching for her cap. "I… crap… Where's it?" she hissed, utterly mortified with herself and Alice's silence. "Seriously, you don't have to worry about that."
"I'm not," the blonde finally spoke. Claire looked up at her, and she felt the growing blush on her cheeks when Alice held her gaze. The older woman's face remained impassible, even though the leader could almost glimpse a suggestive glow in her green eyes.
"Good," Claire breathed, giving up on her cap and admitting they both could do with some group socialization instead of the awkward tension. "I'm gonna-" she pointed over her shoulder.
"Yeah, they might be wondering where you are."
"Right," the redhead nodded and sighed, taking point to leave the police station and feeling that damn warmth on the back of her head as Alice walked slightly behind her.
XXX
The convoy, despite the losses and new adhesions, had kept a routine that no one tried to change over the last four years. Claire thought it gave them the idea of normalcy, just like little habits people used to have when life was still dictated by the clock. They usually shared tasks according to people's aptitudes, and that had always worked well, thank you very much. Except that today no one seemed to care about the routine.
Everyone had gathered around the extinguished fire and chatted frantically, not even caring to whisper or to be discreet. They wanted answers about who was the mysterious woman that had controlled the flames and killed all the infected crows.
K-Mart went past several of them, getting slightly annoyed with their comments. She saw Chris and Chase approach the group, looking intrigued as well. The older Redfield drew closer when he saw the teen standing there.
"Seen Claire?"
"Not yet," K-Mart shook her head.
"There she is," Chase pointed ahead, and both Chris and the teen turned around. Claire came towards them with Alice right behind her, both trying to be serious and business-like but failing miserably as they walked like two awkward teenagers.
"Elegance zero," the girl grunted, rolling her eyes.
"What?" Chris asked.
She ignored him and advanced towards the leader, to whom she merely spared a smug smile. K-Mart stopped in front of Alice and checked her out from head to toes. The woman offered her a sly grin as she took her hat off, revealing the usual sandy blond mess of unruly hair. The teen spotted the bracelet she made for Alice over a year ago on her right wrist.
"You care," K-Mart said with a small nod and a smile of relief. She looked over at Claire, who was being adorably ridiculous with the flush on her cheeks. "And you're welcome."
"You're such a brat, K," Claire grunted as Alice chuckled, and reached out for the cap that stood perched on the teen's head. "And this is mine, thank you."
The three of them were so enthralled with the reunion that it took a loud 'Ahem' from Chris to bring them back to the small audience that watched their exchange. The older Redfield grinned at his sister when she caught his gaze.
"I'm sorry," she cleared her throat and turned the leader mode on. "Everyone's here? Well… I want you to meet my friend, Alice. She's staying with us for a while, and…"
"And then we'll see how things go from here," K-Mart interrupted her sister, pulling Alice by the hand and dragging her towards Chris and Chase. "Boys, this is Alice. She's the one who saved our asses from Umbrella."
Chase offered a hand and nodded shortly; the fact that the strange woman had saved the girl and Claire was enough for him. After shaking hands with the blonde, the cowboy went to apologize with Claire for the accident with the fire machine. Chris had a slight frown when Alice looked at him; he scrutinized her carefully, and the blonde simply waited. She understood his reasons. It was hard not to get overprotective around Claire and K-Mart.
"So you saved my sisters twice," he said slowly. Alice just shrugged and took the gloved hand he abruptly offered. She noticed the looped middle finger and how his narrowed eyes were the same shade of blue as Claire's. "Name's Chris."
She squeezed her lips into a shy, swift smile and looked around for K-Mart and Claire. The teen seemed absolutely happy as she hooked one arm with Chris's and eagerly retold him the story of how Alice jumped over the fence and carried her, making the blonde wonder why the girl would have kept that story to herself for so long. Claire was in the middle of a circle, smiling at the people and talking to them.
Alice didn't need a privileged sense of sight to spot the blond young man that stood apart from the group, leaning against the truck with his arms folded. He watched Claire with resentment and for a minute his eyes fell on Alice. She held his gaze defiantly, because she already knew who he was. And funny enough, it seemed like he knew who she was too.
Alice felt her blood boil in her veins, but she had to control herself. Claire's efforts to reassure the group that it was safe to have her around would be good as shit if suddenly the guy's neck snapped and he dropped dead on the ground with one command of her brain.
He turned away and put his sunglasses back on, entering the truck's cabin to grab his gun. He tucked it on his belt rather fiercely and made his way among the destroyed buildings of the city. Alice felt her nerves showing when she looked back and saw Claire following him with her eyes, a subtle expression of concern covering her face.
Just as if their minds were connected, Claire turned around and found Alice's unhappy face. From far she could tell the blonde was struggling with her fury, hiding it at any cost, but Claire knew better. It was there, in every trace of her harsh expression.
The redhead opened her mouth to speak, but Alice had given her back to her and started to walk away towards the cowboy; there was a very quick exchange of words and he indicated the machine attached to the cargo compartment. He watched Alice easily climb the rusty stair steps and followed her to the top of the truck.
Claire closed her eyes in frustration. Having 'team Alice' bugging Mikey was one thing, but having the real Alice murdering him was something else entirely. No matter how much she hated the idea, she knew she would have to talk to them and beg for truce if necessary. When she saw the weapon spitting fire like a raging dragon, Claire decided to start with Mikey.
XXX
"It's our chance, you know."
Chris watched the blonde woman on top of the truck, making a lot more of damage than they had seen the day before, and then he looked down at K-Mart. "You think Alice can convince Claire?"
"Oh, I don't think. I know."
Chris frowned at the teen. "Well, I wish her luck. Claire's grumpy in the morning, cigarette-deprived-bitch by lunch and gloom at night, meaning it's never a good time to talk about Alaska with her."
"It was then, Chris. Now she has cigarettes and… well, Alice," K-Mart said.
"What do you mean, she has-?" the frown changed to a surprised expression. He looked up at Alice, who was completely mastering the fire thrower with mental powers. "You're not saying… My sister and… her-?"
The teen shrugged, and Chris remained silent for a long time. Alice jumped from the truck and landed powerfully on the dusty street, cracking the asphalt around her feet.
"It's her, then," he finally spoke, observing the blonde's lack of manners as she lit a cigarette.
"Come on, you're not going to be pissed about that, are you? Claire's perfectly happy with her," K-Mart pulled him towards the police station. "You were going to find me a gun, remember?"
"Yeah, let's go," Chris said vaguely, looking at Alice for a little longer as they walked. He could totally kick Mikey's ass, but that woman's? He might as well admit she had saved his sisters' lives and that earned his respect – or he just felt scared that she could actually turn him inside out.
The cool shades of the police station felt refreshing against their heated skin. Chris grabbed the huge suitcase from underneath a metal cabinet and dropped it heavily over the desk. He matched the lockers' combination and opened it, revealing a small arsenal the convoy had collected along the years.
K-Mart's eyes were sparkling at the sight. "Wow," she whispered in awe. "Can I pick, like, whatever I want?"
"Go for the lighter ones, at first. But sure, it's your pick."
"This one?" she held up a carabineer.
"No, it's too heavy for you."
"How about this?" K-Mart scavenged the suitcase and took out a machine gun.
"Heavier."
"Why did you say I could pick whatever I liked if I can't pick?" she snapped, folding her arms.
"Did you even listen to me? Go for the light ones!" Chris snapped back, fumbling the case himself and getting a small pistol. "This is what I'm talking about, see? Small, light and-"
"Where did that come from? Military Barbie?" K-Mart interrupted him with a sarcastic tone.
Chris was just about to retort when a loud clatter caught their attention. His first instinct was to grab the unloaded gun and advance to the entrance hall. Alice stood there, cursing under her breath as she hoisted the coat hanger back to its standing position.
"Sorry," Alice mumbled when she saw him and K-Mart. "I didn't see this… Oh!" she let out a low chuckle and held up both hands when she noticed the gun pointed at her. "Please, don't squish."
Chris rolled his eyes at K-Mart's fit of giggles. "Yeah, you keep laughing and I'm done helping you with this, K-Mart!"
"What are you two doing?" Alice asked. She needed a distraction or she would blow up something. Claire had said she loved her. But not like that. She might be just lying, but Alice had no idea how she felt either way.
"We were supposed to find a gun for me," the teen said, pulling Alice inside. "Chris said I could choose it, and then it turned out he was the one deciding what I could actually take."
Alice thought it could be interesting, so she turned to Chris. "What you got?"
He silently tilted his head to indicate the crate over the desk, feeling rather curious about what that woman was going to say. Alice didn't even touch the guns; she stared avidly at them for less than a minute and took one out, throwing it at K-Mart.
"Are you crazy?" Chris said in disbelief as the girl ogled the gun like most survivors peered at food when they found it. "Why would she need an Uzi?"
"K-Mart is a badass, she can handle it," Alice said, winking at the girl, who beamed. "You have her starting with a simple pistol and she'll have more trouble adjusting to more potent weapons later."
Chris was going to argue, but he stopped just in time. That would be exactly what he'd say if it were Claire choosing a lame gun for K-Mart just because she was young. "Fair point," he conceded, not exactly sure why he didn't manage to be resistant with Alice. "Listen…"
"I'm not staying long," Alice interrupted at his visible discomfort. "I just ran into you, I didn't plan on-"
"Don't get me wrong, you did scare the shit out of most of us," he smirked. "But actually I was gonna ask you a favor."
The blonde blinked several times, surprised that she was not being rejected even though she pulled quite a weird show in front of everyone the day before and another one only a few minutes ago. Maybe that was a Redfield dysfunctional gene, trusting freaks like herself.
"What do you need?"
"We can't stay here forever," Chris said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "K-Mart showed me your notebook, and… Well, it does sound like a plan."
"It says it's free of infection, but I can't guarantee that," Alice said with a deep tone. "You're considering it?"
"It's been a while," he nodded. "But Claire could not even see this notebook. And she won't hear a word we say about Alaska."
"I think I know why," the blonde murmured quietly.
"Can you talk to her about it? First it was infected people, now birds… What else is there that's infected and we don't know?"
Alice clenched her teeth. Well, she was infected. After considering it for a moment, she finally nodded. "I'll talk to her about it."
"Thank you."
She shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets. "So… Is there anything I can do to help? It seems you've got a lot to do over here."
"Yeah," Chris nodded in agreement. "Let's grab some ammo inside the Hummer and then I'll show you around. We're scavenging basements and deposits that were sealed. It's our only chance to find food, so you could help us break walls and stuff. It would be quicker."
Alice chuckled deeply at his remark. The three of them left the station and walked towards the Hummer. Alice watched Chris and K-Mart greeting people and interacting with each other. She noticed how the teen seemed slightly taller since that day in Nevada and how her manners were still full of mirth and laughter despite everything that happened to her.
It was the first time Alice actually saw the Hummer since she got there, and it brought back memories of the day Claire and her met. It felt like another life, because she had changed too much since then. Chris unlocked the back of the car and opened a smaller trunk. He collected three magazines for K-Mart's Uzi and handed them to her.
"Take good care of those. I'll teach you how to load it in the afternoon, when we're finished with the sweeping."
Alice got distracted as she peered at the contents of the back seat of the yellow vehicle. It only took her a second to locate and recognize the duffel bag she had handed to K-Mart the day she left her and Claire. She had no idea why the redhead would have kept it, but she could not explain why she didn't get rid of the bracelet K-Mart gave her either. She had thought it was a little stupid to walk around with a smiley face on her wrist, but the loneliness had forced her to keep that, her unique, frail link with people that had actually cared about her.
And her own human weakness made her keep the most odd treasures inside her small bag – a hair peg that had been Angie's and Jill's broken walkie-talkie. The only person she carried only in her memory was Claire. She was in her fingertips, in her clothes, everywhere, even though Alice would rather die than admit all this.
"Let's head downtown," Chris's voice brought her back to reality. "I think they already got started."
XXX
He swung his arms backwards and pulled the sledgehammer with all his strength, smashing a considerable block of concrete from the wall. It got easier and easier as he pictured a face instead of bricks. Mikey heard footsteps behind his back, but he didn't even bother looking around.
"Got a minute?"
He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply when he recognized the voice. "I'm busy."
Claire didn't seem discouraged by that; she drew closer and leaned against the part of the wall that wasn't destroyed yet. She had her arms crossed and a resolute expression that got her everything she wanted from him.
"What?" he asked sharply.
"Mikey, I'm trying to keep it simple, even though it's not. Do not make me regret coming over and being nice to you, come on."
He snapped his neck as he briskly turned to look at her. Claire was stunning, and even though he wanted to be really mature about the whole thing, it was impossible to keep reason and his feelings for her working on the same pace.
"What it is, Claire?" he let out a humorless chuckle drenched with sarcasm. "You want my blessing?"
Claire pressed her lips tightly and took a deep breath before she spoke. "I understand why you're upset, Mikey, but –"
"This is the moment you rub to my face that you told me so?"
"No," she shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes on his wounded expression. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. And that, for the sake of this convoy, I would appreciate if the two of you could keep it, well, civilized."
He bit his tongue to avoid telling Claire to fuck off, but then he saw raw marks on her shoulders that had been concealed by her hair. "Had a great night with that civilized woman, eh?" he growled as his stomach burned with anger. "Guess they were right when they said girls always fall for the douchebags. Well done, Claire. Got yourself the biggest one."
"What-?"
"How does it feel being treated like cattle?" he hissed angrily, pointing her shoulders.
Claire frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but she decided she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of seeing her indignation. Footsteps and familiar voices behind them caught her attention, and she turned around.
Chris and K-Mart led the way, the girl chatting non-stop as she gesticulated frantically. Alice terminated the procession, listening in silence. Her green eyes fell upon Claire and Mikey, and a dark somber covered her tanned face.
Claire groaned.
The air became charged and anyone could have cut the tension with a knife the moment Alice and Mikey glared at each other. The redhead took in a breath and started to feel anxiety crawling up her body. She noticed with one quick glance that Chris and K-Mart felt the same; Claire then turned to stare at Alice and silently beg her not to do anything stupid.
However, Alice did not return her stare; she seemed too focused on Mikey, who she eyed murderously. The blonde kept sending daggers at the young man even after Chris took a step closer and pulled her by the arm, leading her away.
"That was a ridiculous idea. Come on, Alice," he grumbled, sensing her muscles tighten like rock against his hand. Maybe he didn't like Mikey that much, but he did not hate him to the point of watching the boy die slowly and painfully.
K-Mart stayed behind with Claire, watching apprehensively as Mikey and Alice kept exchanging sparkles of rage while Chris forced the blonde to retreat. The teen let out a low sigh of relief when the pair was gone. The tension between Claire and Mikey had just escalated to a different level though, and it was actually the first time K-Mart didn't find it funny to be alone with them to ruin the mood.
Claire shook her head. "Let's go, K," she muttered, placing one hand on the teen's lower back.
"We're not going back to camp?" the teen asked as they walked.
"I have to keep an eye on those two," Claire said gravely, adjusting her cap and tucking loose strands of red hair behind her ear. "So, how was it with the gun?"
"Oh, look at this!" K-Mart unholstered the Uzi from her belt and handed it to Claire.
"Wow… That's very grown up," the leader frowned, turning it around her fingers and then giving it back to the girl.
"Alice picked it for me."
"Should've known," Claire chuckled. "But I thought Chris was helping you."
"Well, he was, but then he decided to go all older brother on me, and he just bitched about every gun I picked," the teen explained. "Then Alice came in, all flustered and tripping over things, and she seemed really glad to have something to do."
Claire chuckled, but deep down she wondered why the hell Alice would act like a normal human being when she was the most silent, stealthiest person in the world. She could be many things, but clumsy was not one of her signature moves.
Then Claire remembered that her big mouth had completely disregarded her much pondered brain. She had said to Alice that she loved her. Fuck.
The redhead sighed. She had no idea it would be so damn hard to conciliate her activities as a leader with having Alice around. Part of her knew she should not get too attached because the blonde was going to leave, but another part of her still clung to last night's events, and she could not even bear the idea of saying goodbye again.
Alice had found her body's handbook somewhere in that devastated world. She knew exactly where to touch, where to trace her fingers and when she should stop torturing Claire and finally release her. The redhead thought for a moment that it could be herself conceding to Alice instead; whatever the older woman choose to do, she was game, blinded by desire and all those emotions the blonde tore out of her with one look.
It didn't matter, though. Alice was leaving.
And Claire was staying. The annoying pain started to grow again in her chest, but her attention to it was cut short when K-Mart's voice rang in her ears.
"Oh God, this is like Christmas…"
Claire followed the teen's eyes and saw the parking lot ahead. It had been – probably during the outbreak night – a military barricade. There were tanks, Jeeps and Red Cross vehicles in there.
"What the hell-"
"Great, isn't it?" Rick, one of the survivors, approached them with a huge smile, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. "Some still have fuel, and we found painkillers in the medical cars. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."
"Rick, this is amazing," Claire said, patting him on the shoulder. "Who's helping you with them?"
"Anna, Lucinda and Steve."
"Well, teach Anna how to start a car without a key," the redhead said with a wink, feeling glad she still had leadership to distract her worried mind. "We might take a few of them."
"But… Are we leaving?"
"Not now, but when food's going scarce again…"
"Chase and your brother are scavenging buildings with Alice and the others. I think they're going to find enough to stay for a long time."
"You liked it in here, huh?" Claire grinned softly at him. He nodded.
"I was born here."
She felt her shoulders fall but K-Mart came to her rescue. "At least you know where you came from, Rick."
"You still don't remember, K?" he asked the teen with sympathy.
"No," she shrugged. "But at least I know I'm no longer fifteen. I can have a car now."
Claire rolled her eyes. Leave it to K to be absolutely like the sun when everything else felt so dark. She and Rick laughed at her smart remark and then parted ways. The redhead and the teen perched on a half ruined wall and watched Chris and the guys breaking through doors and sealed gates, eventually coming out with useful things for the convoy.
They both got startled when a loud explosion made the earth quake a little. There was smoke coming out of a building, and Claire decided to check it. Both her and K-Mart joined Chris, Chase and the others to see what the hell was going on.
Alice stood with her hands on her hips and her back to them, watching what seemed to be her concept of a masterpiece. She had absolutely destroyed an entire wall of the building, creating passageway to a grocery store's deposit.
She had taken off her shirt and hat, and Claire felt her heart jolt at the sight of her back. Alice was wearing dark and dusty jeans and a very torn and dirt wife beater that clasped her torso perfectly; her muscles seemed a lot more pronounced than before. The blonde turned around and faced the stunned group with a breathless chuckle.
The second she saw Claire, she smiled at the redhead, who returned it discreetly. However, subtlety was never enough when they were around K-Mart. She nudged Claire and gave Alice the thumbs up. The blonde actually laughed and approached the group.
"Well, it looks like you'll have food to feed an army," she said simply.
"For the love of God," Chase removed his hat and stared at her with a frown. "You're not going anywhere, partner."
Everyone stared at him, except for Chris. "He's right. You could protect us and keep us alive for the rest of our lives, Alice." There was a joking tone on his voice, but Claire knew her brother meant every word, and that lifted her hopes up. Maybe with general acceptance Alice decided to stay with them.
Alice was going to say something, when the clapping noise got everyone's attention. It was Mikey, who had the sledgehammer by his feet as he applauded lazily in annoying fashion. It looked like he had been standing there for a while.
"Cheers to Alice!" he said loudly with a cold smile. "Our savior! Thank you so much for showing up after FOUR years! We've been starving and suffering since the outbreak, but I'm sure NOW this won't happen anymore, because we have you!"
Most of them frowned at his sarcastic speech, but Chris didn't want to wait for the battle of nerves to unroll any further. He grabbed the sledgehammer before Mikey had any ideas and dragged the boy away from the group, deciding the police station would be a good option for guy to guy chat.
"Come on, Mikey."
"Fuck off, you too!" the blond man scoffed, jerking his arm away. He left alone, cursing under his breath and shaking his head in exasperation. Chris searched for his sister's eyes. She merely twisted her lips and arched an eyebrow. He caught the silent message and returned to the group, leaving Mikey to sulk on his own.
"He's just jealous," Chase said to Alice. "We've been fighting really hard for all this time, and now you showed up with those darn magic tricks, ya know… Boy thinks he lost his throne."
"Well, and he did," K-Mart grunted, but only Claire heard her. The leader gave her a death glare that she ignored completely. "So, sweeping's over, right? Can you help me with the gun, now?" she asked Chris. He nodded shortly and then walked up to his sister.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Claire said, folding her arms. "I'll go check the cars with Rick. They found fuel and medicine. Have Chase and the guys stocking all the food, okay?"
He nodded in agreement and left to the camp with K-Mart after talking briefly with the cowboy. As the rest of the survivors went back to their activities, Alice and Claire were left alone again.
"You should go get some rest now," the redhead said. "I think you've done enough for the day."
Alice looked deeply into her eyes. She wanted to know why Claire said she loved her. She wanted Claire to tell her Mikey was just a silly boy that had a crush on her, and that nothing had ever happened between them because she thought about Alice all the time.
"You have a nice team," the blonde said instead, picking a cigarette from her own pack and lighting it.
"They're my family," Claire said with a proud grin, looking around.
Alice nodded, not sure of what to say next. She didn't remember anything about her family, and she had no idea what it felt like being part of one.
"Claire!" Rick called out. "We found water!"
Alice placed her hat back on her head. "Go ahead," she said when Claire looked torn between staying and fulfill her duties as their leader. "I'll be around camp."
Claire silently nodded, visibly wanting to say something else. But she didn't; she offered Alice a small smile and walked towards the parking lot.
XXX
It was slightly dark when the group finally settled around the fire to eat and talk. Everyone seemed elated with all the food and supplies they had found, and Claire had thanked each and every member of the convoy for their hard work. Alice just watched the group from her distance, sitting on top of a rock as she sharpened a long stick with her pocket knife. Chris and K-Mart sat near Claire, but they would eventually check on her. Chase had actually being the only one who climbed the small incline to meet her. He left a dose of whisky at her feet and made his way back down to the campfire.
She was peacefully chiseling and perfecting her spear, wondering when it would be the best moment to approach Claire and keep the promise she had made earlier to Chris and K-Mart. She had to convince the leader to leave that devastated place while they still had energy. The fuel, medicine and food were also another good reason to start a long travel; they would have plenty of time to find more along the way. And they seemed like a nice group, and Alice wanted them to make it.
She was just thinking about that when she heard boots against the gravel. Alice sensed the animosity, but she knew it wasn't an undead or anyone slightly as dangerous.
Mikey stopped about two yards from where she was, and watched the convoy around the campfire with a look of disgust. "It's kind of pathetic, isn't it?" he slurred in a thick voice, his accent a lot more pronounced now. "Celebrating food and water like Middle Age people?"
Alice lit a cigarette and ignored him. He took her silence as an invite to keep talking.
"Everything is pathetic if you actually give it a bit of thought. Chase acts like a stupid farmer, Chris thinks he's still in the Army or whatever was the place he served to… And there's Little Miss Queen over there. Thinks she rules the world. Too bad you didn't get the chance to meet L.J… He'd tell you exactly why Claire is the leader."
The blonde felt her blood grow alarmingly hot under her skin, and she had an idea of where he was heading with that nonsense blabbing.
"You don't talk much, do you?" he approached the rock Alice was sitting on and offered a gloved hand. "Suppose I didn't introduce myself properly, now, did I? I'm Mikey."
Alice looked up at him with an expression of utter indifference. "It's not a pleasure to meet you," she muttered, turning back to her chiseling without shaking his hand. He chuckled lightly at her response.
"Well, I cannot say I'm pleased either," he commented. "Actually, it's fucking annoying to meet you, because… You know, Alice, we've been holding on together in this convoy for years, and we always did fine. Now you showed up with your pyrotechnical gig and everyone drools for you. But it was me – ME – standing next to Claire when she needed, are you listening? It was me helping her to keep it together when she was sad!"
"Well done, Mickey," Alice scoffed, casting away a few chips of wood.
"It's Mikey."
"Does it look like I care?"
He shook his head and shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. He started to descend towards the camp, but he suddenly changed his mind about just leaving the undisturbed woman in peace. "Maybe it doesn't make any difference to you, but you know what? It was 'Mikey' and not 'Mickey' that she called out when she wanted me to fuck her."
Mikey smiled victoriously at his remark, when suddenly a sharp object came zooming past his head, missing his left ear by inches. It nailed the earth and wobbled a bit to the sides; he turned around just in time to see Alice jumping on him with an assassin look on her face.
The pair rolled down the dusty incline, catching the group's attention in a few seconds. Mikey tried to kick her but she was way too fast and a lot stronger than him. They thudded painfully on the ground, a few yards away from the Hummer, and soon enough the whole group had gathered in line to watch them.
Neither Alice nor Mikey were paying attention to the voices and hands that tried to stop them from pouncing at each other. In a second Alice had him pinned on the ground; she glared at him feeling blood on her lips.
"You're going to swallow your tongue, boy," she hissed, striking him with a sequence of punches. The first one probably got his nose off its original place, and he tried to hit her face with his head. She knocked him down instead, hitting his brow line with her forehead.
The second punch made him snarl and spit blood through ragged breaths. Mikey hit her stomach with his knee, and got another punch in response. He could barely see Alice now; his eye was swelling fast and the blood and sweat combined were sticking his hair to his uninjured eye.
Alice raised her fist for the ultimate blow, but a scream cut it out. Hands on her back pulled her away from Mikey, who was hoisted up by Chase. It took Alice a full minute to notice it was Chris holding her by the shoulders.
Mikey stood up with difficulty, wiping the blood from his face using the collar of his t-shirt. He pointed a threatening finger at her. "This ain't over!"
Chris had to clasp both arms around Alice to lock her in place and prevent her from jumping on his throat. She was damn strong, and it took him quite a bit to have her stop squirming. Chase was already far with Mikey by then, even though they could still hear him throwing curses in the air as they went away.
Chris let her go and led the rest of the group back to camp, one protective arm around K-Mart's shoulder. The teen walked along, but she kept throwing backwards glances as she went. Alice caught Claire in her peripheral vision, but it took her a moment to notice the redhead was talking to her.
"What the hell was that?" she yelled angrily. "You could've killed him!"
Alice knew that it was true but her state of fury simply ignored her common sense and allowed her irrational side to take over. "So what?" she snarled almost breathlessly, throwing a disgusted look at Claire. "You don't wanna bother finding another bed to jump in when I'm gone?"
Claire's lips quivered and even in the dark Alice saw her face growing red. Tears made her blue eyes glisten, and her voice was raspy and broken when she finally spoke.
"You should have let those birds kill me. It would be better than hearing this."
The redhead spun on her heels and left Alice behind. She walked fast towards camp and soon she disappeared from view. Alice fell on her knees, trying to calm her breathing and her heart pace. Her skull ached and her chest constricted with the pain she caused just because she was an asshole.
Jealousy was a very, very bittersweet poison.
XXX
"What are you doing here?"
Claire slumped down the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. "I'm going to sleep and as far as I remember, this is my car."
K-Mart's eyebrows knitted together. "God."
"What?" Claire spat rudely.
"You'd think a nice lay with super woman would put you on a better mood."
"I'm not having you talking about my life like that, K-Mart!"
"What the hell, Claire? You have two people dueling for you! Isn't that, like, super romantic?"
Claire blinked several times until she finally managed to answer. "It's not romantic to watch someone trying to kill other person."
"Okay," the teen nodded. "Maybe she was over the line with the punching, but… Claire, come on! She was minding her own business and Mikey went there to provoke her. He teased her the whole day! Chris was teaching me how to shoot, and we both saw him throwing small rocks at her while she cleaned her gun."
Claire closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She was going to have a lot of trouble with those two. "Well, just the same, it doesn't justify her smashing his face like that."
"I think it was superhot, and I don't care what you say. She was defending your honor."
"That's your fault for telling her about him," Claire tried to argue.
"Well, I suppose you'd rather be roasted to death than having your woman fighting for you."
The redhead wanted to laugh, but she just couldn't let K-Mart win this time.
"Yes, I would," she said. "And I told her that."
K-Mart's eyes went wide. "You're so stupid, Claire…"
"Well, she has to know how I feel," the redhead shrugged, feeling her confidence vanish way fast.
"Say that you love her, then, and not some hot head snide comment that will probably have her sneaking out to leave during the night!"
At that Claire sat up straight behind the steering wheel. She fussed about the locker and hurried to get out of the vehicle.
"Where are you going?" K-Mart called out. "Jesus, I didn't mean it literally!"
But Claire was already running to the police station, and she didn't hear the teen. Everyone else was sleeping, split in more groups now that they had other cars for that. She tried to be as silent as she could so no one would wake up, and she ran faster the last few steps to the building.
It was very dark in there, but the beam of a flashlight caught her eye and she saw Alice reading the red notebook. She looked up when she heard the footsteps, and her expression was slightly aggravated when she saw Claire.
The redhead stopped to catch her breath; she was relieved to see the blonde on the couch, but her speech would have to wait. Claire would not say anything until she was sure she would not faint.
When she recovered from the running, the leader sat by the chair and stared at Alice, who had put the notebook down to watch her. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but it was Alice's voice that came out first.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?"
"I didn't mean those things I said to you."
Claire studied the blonde carefully. Her eyes and her face matched her sincere words. She nodded, that old stupid smile crisping her lips again.
"Me neither. I'm happy I'm alive, and I'm happy that you're here."
"I am too," Alice whispered. They ogled each other for a while, until Alice offered a hand and pulled Claire with her on the couch. They quickly adjusted together, Claire's body fitting perfectly on the blonde's curves.
"This is more comfortable than the Hummer," the redhead commented, resting against Alice's chest. It rumbled softly with the low chuckle the older woman let out.
"Claire?"
"Hmm?"
"You have to lead this people to Alaska."
Claire remained in silence for a moment. "Why are you so adamant about that?"
"It's safer than here."
"Then why aren't you there?"
Alice realized that she would have to trust Claire if she wanted the leader to trust her.
"I have to destroy the facilities, Claire. No one's safe with Umbrella still out there. Wesker knew me. That bitch in Nevada, Ocampo… She knew me too."
"Do you think they have something to do with you being infected?"
"Yeah, that's my guess," Alice said. "And there was Angie and Jill."
"Who are they?"
"They escaped Raccoon City together and they were on the road since the outbreak. Angie was infected and needed the antivirus regularly. Someone stole it from them, but… No one knows there's a cure, so… I think it was Umbrella again. Angie was just eight years old."
Claire gulped. She already knew that part of the story. "What about Jill?"
"She went away and I have no idea if she's still alive. But I do know I have to take Umbrella down. For Angie and for everyone that's still fighting. That's why I can't stay. They might come after me, and I don't want to be around you if they do."
"K-Mart and her family were held hostage for tests," Claire added, playing with her hair as she sensed the vibration of Alice's voice against her back. "So you think they're still capturing people for experiments?"
"Yes, that's what I think. There's a house in Raccoon City you can stay with the group for a while," Alice added when Claire didn't say anything. "There's food, and there's a lake. I stayed there for a while after Jill left. From there, you head to Arcadia with the group."
"Why don't you just come with us? We can start over. Like a family."
"I need to avenge many people."
"You don't need to save the world, Alice."
"I'm not sure why… but I have the feeling that I own the world this."
Claire closed her eyes for a moment so she could take in everything Alice said to her. It was the first time the blonde shared this much information with her. She rolled over so she was on top of Alice.
Alice held Claire with one arm as she used her free hand to tuck loose strands of red hair behind Claire's ear. She stared deeply into her blue eyes, trying to find out how the leader felt about her without having to ask.
It would be very difficult to leave her this time.
"K-Mart was right about you," Claire said with a loving smile as she traced Alice's lips with her fingertip. "You care."
Alice grinned. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, you might be the world's ultimate badass, but you are an extreme gentleman, you know."
"What the fuck are you talking about, Claire?" she asked with a smirk.
Claire lowered her head to kiss Alice. "Whatever made you punch him like that…"
The blonde rolled her eyes and pulled the younger woman closer to her for another kiss. "Just shut up."
The redhead chuckled and then her smile turned into a completely different expression. She sat up, straddling the blonde, and slowly she removed her top. Alice watched almost hypnotized her every move, from the way her flat stomach sparred with the gesture and how her ribs poked her smooth skin as she arched her body backwards.
Instead of hurrying the process by taking charge, Alice simply waited. Claire unclasped her bra and threw it gently against the blonde's face.
"Wipe the drool a bit," she murmured with a lascivious smile that made Alice shiver pleasurably.
Alice clenched her fumbling fingers into fists. She was going to make Claire pay for that later. Claire rolled them over so she was lying on the couch with the blonde on top of her. She unbuckled her belt and hoisted her hip just enough to remove her jeans.
"Your turn," she whispered to Alice.
The blonde didn't have to hear it twice. She threw her shirt over her shoulder and yanked her pants off of her legs, finally feeling the heat from Claire's thighs on her skin. The redhead rolled up her wife beater, taking her chance to feel as much of Alice as she could along the way. The blonde hurriedly removed the rest of it and hooked her fingers on Claire's underwear.
The leader chuckled lightly as she removed Alice's hand from the elastic band around her hips.
"You can't use your hands. Be creative."
The blonde had a questioning look on her face that Claire found adorable. She pulled Alice for another kiss and bit her lower lip.
"You see, we have teeth for more than one purpose…"
Alice grinned broadly, barely managing to keep her breath steady at the thought of what Claire had just suggested she did.
XXX
Claire stood perched by the edge of the cargo area of the truck, one arm resting against her flexed knee. Chris and K-Mart stood next to her, talking among each other as they waited for Claire to speak. The leader threw a sideways glance to her right and found the mess of sandy blond hair she had pulled so hard last night.
Alice was on the ground but with her back to the leader, arms folded as she watched the members of the convoy gather in front of Claire.
The redhead took a deep breath.
"I know everyone likes being here," she said. "But recently we've found out it's extremely dangerous to settle because Umbrella is still functioning. They're capturing survivors to test the virus, like they did with K and her family. We were told that there's this place, Arcadia-" she looked up at her brother, who nodded slightly to encourage her to continue. "It's in Alaska. We heard it's free of infection in there, and it seems to be far enough from Umbrella's hands. I cannot make this decision for all of you, so we vote for it. Those in favor, raise your hand."
Little by little, every hand stood up in the air. With a sigh of relief, Claire removed her cap and nodded. "Gather everything up. We're setting camp down and hit the road before noon."
As the survivors chatted among each other, most of them looking excited to have a plan, Claire jumped off the cargo area and watched Chris and K-Mart join the group. She looked at them for a while and then finally turned to Alice.
"So this is it, then."
Alice looked up at the leader, her green eyes screaming things that she absolutely could not manage to say to Claire. "This is it," she said softly.
The redhead took one step closer. "There's a vehicle Chris prepared for you. I think there's gas enough for you to get to New York," she made a pause and looked down at her shoes. That was too damn hard. Last night she had Alice inside of her, and now she was losing that woman all over again.
"Claire," Alice whispered, touching her chin and lifting her face softly.
"Good luck," Claire mumbled, feeling that burning pain in her throat as she tried to avoid the blonde's gaze again.
"Look at me, please."
The leader hesitated and then she complied. There was something completely different in Alice's face, just as if she didn't actually want to leave.
"Don't go," Claire pleaded, one lonely tear rolling down her cheek.
Alice wiped it with her thumb, keeping her eyes locked with Claire's.
"Promise you'll remember, Claire."
"Remember what?"
"That you're mine."
Claire let out a wet, sad chuckle, and shook her head. "It never changed."
Alice caressed her face with a sad smile of her own. "I promise you, Claire. I'm coming back this time."
"How will you find us?"
"I've found you once, didn't I?"
"That was luck."
"It doesn't matter," Alice pulled her into a tight embrace that Claire was not expecting. They pressed their bodies against each other for a long moment. Alice bent her head lower and reached for Claire's ear. "This time I'm coming back for you."